


Wonderful Tonight

by www_creedthoughts_gov



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, FCC PG-13 Guidelines, Fluff, I see no god up here but me, Implied Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/www_creedthoughts_gov/pseuds/www_creedthoughts_gov
Summary: In their mid-20's, Zuko and Katara take a big relationship step and move in together. The couple is invited by their neighbor to a dinner party. Zuko disappears halfway through the party, but Katara finds that he has made a new friend.Adorableness ensues and they finally have an important discussion about family and the future.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	Wonderful Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic (please be gentle, *sweating*). This year has been a freaking nightmare, so here's something soft and nice for everyone (because it's my fic and I make the rules).
> 
> Quick Overview:  
> Katara is 25 and Zuko is 26 [I see no god up here but me] and the GAang met in college. Katara is working at a Cal Academy of Sciences (esque) Institution in the Aquarium's education department. Zuko works for Iroh's international eco-friendly fair-trade tea company. 
> 
> Songs that I recommend for this fic are SOFT:
> 
> Archie, Marry Me - Flyte  
> Heaven - Flyte  
> White Roses - Flyte (they just got those soft vibes)  
> Olalla - Blanco White  
> Just, Bon Iver
> 
> Now on to the good vibes

After three years of dating (preceded by a couple of years of tension that drove their friends nuts before finally admitting their feelings, with the help of Suki and Sokka who credit themselves for their relationship) Katara and Zuko decided to move in together. Sokka and Suki were extremely excited for them, considering it was his best friend and little sister moving in together. No one commented on Sokka’s eye twitching as he used all his strength to contain his Protective Older Sibling™ mode as he acknowledged that his baby sister was a full-fledged adult. 

Surprisingly, Toph was their biggest supporter; citing that they needed their own space to be all mushy and gross together and not disturb people with functioning ears or eyes. 

About a month after the move into the one-bedroom apartment, Katara came home to a pink envelope, covered in stickers stuck to her door. The young couple was able to befriend their neighbors down the hall, Noren and his young daughter Kiyi. Katara was declared Kiyi’s favorite neighbor since Katara would bring her gifts from the science museum she worked at. Noren had invited Katara and Zuko over for a small get together at his apartment, and Kiyi had insisted on making the invitation herself. 

* * *

As the evening of small talk and pleasantries wore on, Katara realized halfway through a conversation with one of Noren’s coworkers that she had lost track of Zuko. Despite his strict upbringing of etiquette classes and fancy parties, she knew how much her boyfriend hates small talk. 

This dinner party was their first major outing as a couple after moving in together. Katara felt like this party was a test of their relationship, and she was feeling the pressure. After receiving the invitation from Noren, the young couple lamented over beer and moving boxes how they did not want their relationship to be the topic of debate for Noren’s married friends on their drives home. 

Katara quickly checks her phone. She realizes that Zuko hasn’t texted her, letting her know that he had snuck back home, so Katara politely excuses herself from the conversation. 

Moving from the kitchen to the living room, Katara’s brow furrows; Zuko was still nowhere to be found. She never minded his homebody tendencies, but Katara had thought both of them wanted to make a good impression on their new neighbors. 

_ Our relationship is fine, we don’t have to prove anything to these strangers, I don’t need these people’s approval _ . _ We love each other, and we have been to hell and back, these people don’t know shit about us and can’t make bets on how long we will last. God, I love him so much, and I know he loves me. I trust him with my life. But I don’t need more people in our lives thinking we are broken and doubting us. _

  
  


The search was not completely futile, Katara spots Noren adjusting the music volume on the stereo in the corner. 

Noren also noticed her approach, “Hey, Katara! Having a good time?” 

Katara gives her neighbor a tight smile. “Yes, thank you for inviting us. Your friends are so sweet and friendly, we definitely feel welcomed to the building.” Katara lowers her voice, “speaking of, have you seen Zuko anywhere?” 

Noren gives her a knowing smile and motions for her to follow him down the dark hallway towards the bedrooms. “I think he’s in good company.” 

As they make their way down the hall, Noren puts a finger to his lips telling Katara to be quiet as they approach a lit room at the end of the corridor. The cacophony of the party begins to fade, curiosity piqued, Katara picks up on a little voice softly singing a song from Moana. What surprises Katara is the familiar, raspy voice that compliments the performance. 

Noren lets Katara step forward and peer into the room, quietly leaving her to observe. The sight in front of her leaves Katara stunned, thankful she is hidden in the dark to not disturb the scene before her. 

In the middle of the bedroom is a small table with Noren’s five-year-old daughter Kiyi seated with various stuffed animals and a play tea set. Kiyi looks adorable with a tiara, pink princess dress, and a sparkly feather boa as an accent piece. Sparkles littered her cherub face. 

Katara’s heart melts once she notices one of Kiyi’s tea-mates. Situated between an orange elephant and a blue teddy bear is Zuko. She has to stifle a laugh at the image of Zuko squatting uncomfortably in a comically small children’s chair, knees high above the table. Zuko is a sight to behold, dress shirt and sleeves rolled up, elbows resting uncomfortably on his knees, sporting an empty cup of tea. Kiyi was clearly an amazing hostess because her guest too has been adorned with a tiara and a feather boa. 

Zuko had not noticed Katara’s approach because he was listening to Kiyi with rapt attention as she explained to him who her favorite princesses were and why. 

“And what princess are you dressed as?” Zuko asks the girl with a small smile on his lips. 

Kiyi’s grin grows impossibly wider, “This is my Sleeping Beauty dress! I like her because she wears pink. That’s my favorite color.” She takes a moment to breathe and continues with more enthusiasm. “I even put pink sparkles on!” She points to her round cheeks, “My aunt got it for me for my birthday! I love sparkles. They’re pretty and sometimes it’s magic because fairies use sparkles in their pixie dust!” 

“The sparkles look very nice, Kiyi. What kind of magic do these sparkles have?”

Kiyi contemplates her new friend’s question, tapping her cheek to show she is deep in thought and her expertise on the subject.

“The pink sparkles make you pretty like a princess like the fairies do for Sleeping Beauty… would you like some sparkles?” Kiyi asks with a hopeful expression on her face. 

Zuko hesitates for a second in shock before nodding his assent.

Kiyi squeals with joy before crossing over to Zuko. While prepping the face glitter the girl stops and looks at Zuko. 

“What happened to your face?”

Katara’s heart stopped.

Even after years of therapy, his scar is still a sensitive subject. Katara and Iroh are the only people Zuko trusted enough to touch the scar. He still has painful nightmares reliving the night his father burned his face. His desperate screams in the middle of the night haunt Katara. The first night after moving into their new apartment, Zuko had a nightmare for the first time in almost a year. Katara had suddenly awoken in the middle of the night to his whimpering and desperate pleas for mercy, clawing at the left side of his face. Seeing the clear terror on his face as he woke, killed Katara. Once recognition filled his eyes, she pulled him close, tucking his face into her neck. He snuggled closer into the embrace, hot tears mingling with her cool skin. All she could do is hold him tight, run her hand along his scalp as a comfort, and whisper how much she loves him and how she promises to keep him safe as long as she’s alive. Katara wishes she could make Ozai pay for his sins, but the most powerful thing she can do to spite the man is to love Zuko with all of her being. 

Katara snaps back to the moment as she hears Zuko take a deep breath before speaking,

“It’s a scar…” he licks his lips, trying to wade through the painful memory, and looks up at Kiyi, “a very bad man hurt me a very long time ago. But he can't hurt anyone anymore.” 

Kiyi considers this. Then speaks up, genuine care lacing her tone, “Here. I’ll put some sparkles on it to make it pretty.” Kiyi could sense the pain in Zuko’s voice, and decided to help her new friend feel better the best way she knew how. 

Zuko cracks a small smile at her offer and accepts, closing his eyes as Kiyi begins gently applying the sparkle gel to his scarred eye. 

The tenderness of the scene stuck Katara with overwhelming emotion. Tears threaten to spill over her eyes as she watches her love open up to their neighbor’s daughter.

_ Is this how he’ll be with our daughter? _

That last intrusive thought made Katara blush. She knows she loves Zuko, that she can’t imagine sharing her life with anyone else. It hits Katara like a crashing wave.

_ She wants to marry Zuko; she wants to build a life with him, she wants to see him hold their baby in his arms, she wants to watch him be patient and teach their child how to ride a bike, she wants to make a family together. _

Their amorphous future that she had imagined suddenly felt tangible. Katara felt like she couldn’t breathe at the rush of these life-altering realizations. She did not have much time to sit with her thoughts. 

Subconsciously shifting her weight, the floor loudly creaked under Katara. She watches Zuko’s body stiffen and his eyes snap towards the noise. 

“Katara,” Zuko states in relief, tension releasing from his stiff posture at the sight of his girlfriend. 

Kiyi turns to what has caught Zuko’s attention and squeals. “Katara!” as she sees her favorite neighbor, that brings her gifts from the museum, standing in the doorway. 

“Katara come join our tea party!” 

Katara breaks into a wide grin, “I’d love to join, Kiyi.” 

The little princess takes Katara’s hand, not giving the woman much time to compose herself and dab away the forming tears before being dragged into the full light of the bedroom. Kiyi leads Katara to the seat next to Zuko. Kiyi adjusts her ‘guests’ to accommodate Katara. She then goes to her toy chest and is quickly preoccupied searching for a tiara and boa for Katara, preferably a blue one. 

Once finally reunited with her boyfriend this evening, Katara runs a hand through the hair on his temple gently brushing his scalp with her nails. He leans into her comforting touch, briefly shutting his eyes, relishing in the intimacy of the small gesture, and taking a shaky breath. She decides to break the tension by whispering, “I was wondering where you ran off to.” 

Zuko looks down and shakes his head, letting out a little laugh and softly replies. “Yeah, Kiyi came out to ask Noren for the glitter while I was talking to him. She recognized me and started telling me all about how she’s learning all about the butterflies in school and their life cycle.” He tilts his head a bit. “Did you know that monarch butterflies travel about 3,000 miles to reach their winter habitat based purely on instinct?”

Katara lets out a small laugh. “Yes, in matter of fact I did.” She stops her ministrations and lets her thumb stroke the corner of his scarred eye, careful not to disturb the glitter. “It’s still amazing the change they go through and how they know where home is.”

Zuko finally meets her eyes at that last statement, his eyes filled with love. He places his hand on hers and presses a tender kiss to her palm. Katara drops her hand, she toys with the pink feather boa and gives him a smirk before dropping her hand to between his shoulder blades, his skin radiating warmth. 

“She was so excited to see me and wanted to play dress-up. Noren said it was all fine if I was willing to hang out with a chatty kindergartener.” 

Katara eyes the tiara furnishing Zuko’s head, “That was very nice of you.” She uses her free hand to bring his to her lap, using her thumb to rub gentle circles on the back of his hand. 

Zuko explains, “She is very sweet… and persuasive.” Katara adores how this innocent five year old before them has the resilient and powerful Zuko Sozin wrapped around her finger in the span of an hour. 

* * *

After saying their goodbyes to Noren and a sleepy Kiyi, Zuko wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they made their way back to their apartment. Once back home, they get ready for bed in companionable silence, broken up with an easy discussion of the other couples they met. Katara has switched into her pajamas, an oversized college shirt, and a pair of Zuko’s boxers she ‘borrowed’. Zuko was in his normal sleep attire of sweatpants and no shirt (because the man just radiates heat). 

Katara finally finished removing her makeup before turning to Zuko, “Come here, love, let me get the glitter off… unless you want it all over our pillows,” she giggles. He quietly acquiesces to her request, closing his eyes as she gently wipes away the sparkles gifted by Kiyi. While she’s working, his hands come to rest on her hips, rubbing soothing circles on her skin. Katara sighs at the intimacy and decides to bring up what’s been hanging in the back of her mind all night.

“So…” she finally breaks the quiet, getting the last of the glitter off his eye, “you were really great with Kiyi tonight. Have you ever, thought, um. About having kids of your own one day?” Katara is nothing if not brave and manages to get the big question out without her nerves getting the better of her. 

The steady pattern of thumbs on her hips falter at the question. Katara’s heart rate picks up in response to the nerve-wracking silence. Eyes still closed, he takes a deep breath before speaking,

“For a long time, no. I couldn’t imagine my future like that” Zuko’s voice becomes distant. “I had a hard time… I couldn't picture myself with a happy family, being a father... which I’ve been working on.” A rueful smile plays on his lips. 

Katara was thankful Zuko’s eyes were still closed as she continued to remove the glitter, he couldn’t see the disappointment on her face. The future she had dreamed of this evening suddenly slipping through her fingers like sand. 

His soft voice breaks the tension, “But even after the care of Uncle and the years of therapy; it wasn’t until I fell in love with this crazy, blue-eyed scientist that I realized that I wanted that with her.” The towelette comes to a halt as Katara lets out a breathy laugh. She drops the towelette onto the counter and wraps her arms around Zuko, laying her head on his warm chest. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” he whispers into her hair, leaving a soft kiss to emphasize his words.

After a beat, he straightens, “Katara… umm… are you, are you trying to tell me something?”

Katara snorts. She can  _ feel _ him trying to act calm in her embrace. “Ha! No, nothing we need to worry about. Thanks for checking in.” Katara feels the chuckle he gives in his chest under her cheek. 

“Mmmmm. Are you ready for bed, love?” He asks, breath tickling her ear.

Katara presses a soft kiss to the center of his chest before pulling back to look Zuko in the eyes. 

“I’m ready for bed… but I'm not sure if I’m tired quite yet.” Giving him a mischievous grin, trailing her fingers up and down his ribs. 

His eyes turned into molten gold, biting his lip, “Agni, I love you.”

Zuko swiftly grabs onto Katara’s thighs, lifting her into his arms. Katara lets out a squeal of laughter as she wraps her legs around his waist and arms around his neck for stability. 

“Oh my gosh! Eager aren’t we?” Katara laughs, grinning from ear to ear. 

Zuko pulls her closer and leans in, kissing her tenderly. Coming up for air, he brushes his nose with hers, foreheads together, “Always for you, my love.” 

Katara looks into the depths of his golden eyes, “Look at you saying sappy, romantic things about me,” in a more serious tone, “I love you, Zuko, more than I thought a person could love someone.” 

He begins to leave the bathroom before Katara stops him, “Wait! Wait wait! Back up a little.” He cautiously takes a few steps back into the bathroom. 

“Gotta turn off the light. Save energy and the Earth.” She flips the switch off. 

He kisses her long and hard. “You’re so sexy when you’re responsible and saving the world.”

**Author's Note:**

> Alternative ending: Zuko was just taking a massive dump
> 
> I hope y'all enjoyed! Please let me know what songs you listened to while reading this fic! 
> 
> This fic couldn't have happened without the love and dedication of goldenbuckyhours who came up with the main idea and edited this for me. Mostly put up with my crazy ideas and questions. (https://goldenbuckyhours.tumblr.com/)
> 
> I'm at https://hakoda-in-a-hawaiian-shirt.tumblr.com/
> 
> (funny anon user names are greatly appreciated)


End file.
